Grin ding-mill



(N0 Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

D. C. STOVER.

GRINDING MILL.

10.347,531. A Patented Aug. 17,1886.

`f..Il[Il]lllllllllllllllllllllll WITJVESSES INVEJvzoR 2 Sheets--Sheeiz 2.

(NoModel.)

' D. C. STOVER.

GRINDING MILL.

Patented Aug. 17, 1886.

/JWITNESSES in the plane of the masteawheel, while the ions, G G G, above, and formed integrally UNTTED STATES PATENT Price.

DANIEL C. STOVER, OF 'FREEPORT, ILLINIS.

GRINDING-IVIILL.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 347,531, dated August 17, 1886.

Application filed November S14, 1885. Serial No. 183,850.

To all whom it may concern; l

Be it known that I, DANIEL C. Srovna, a resident of Freeport, in the county of Stephenson and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Grinding- Mills; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it pertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to improvements in mills of the class known as feed-grinders, and is fully described, explained, and claimed in the following specification, and shown in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a plan of the mill, the hopper being removed. Fig. 2 is a central vertical Section of the complte mill; andthe remaining figures are detail views hereinafter explained.

As illustrated in the views, A is an ordinary meal-box, forming the support of the entire mill, and 5, Fig. 2, is a base-plate resting on and fastened to the meal-box, and provided with threeintegrally-formed gudgeons,which serve as pivots for an equal number of pinions, D D D, and for corresponding smaller pinwith said pinions D D D, respectively. Au internally-geared ring or open master-wheel, C, engages Ythe small pinions G G G, and is provided with lugs K K for the attachment of converging sweeps B, by means of which the mill may be operated, the forward lugs, K K, being bored longitudinally for the ad mission of sweep-retaining bolts E E. For the purpose of giving the sweeps a proper upward inclination the rearward lugs, 'K, are formed forward lugs, K, are above said plane; and in order to bring the sweeps into proper position they lare formed with segmental grooves L, Fig. 10, in their inner faces, which receive the rim of the master-wheel.

Asshown in Fig. 1, the sweeps are cut back on ares about the center of the mill toenable them to pass the ends of stationary arms I I I, hereinafter mentioned; but if the master-wheel rim be widened and given the crosssection illustrated in Fig. 9, the sweeps will receive the horizontal flange C and rest against (No modeLl the vertical flange C, and will be so far from the center as to pass the ends of the arms without beingcut away.

tral boss or hub, forming the upper bearing 1of a vertical shaft, T. Near its lower end the shaft T is journaled in the center of the baseplate', and a spur-gear, U, and beveled gear Vare rigidly mounted on the shaft, the spurgear being above the base-plate and in engagement with the pinions D DD,while the beveled gear is below the base-plate and engages a second beveled gear, V', mounted on a horizontal power-transmitting shaft, T. The upper end of the shaft T is non-eircular in crosssection, as shown in Fig. 1l,which is a horizontal section through the upperpart of the shaft and projects above the bottom of the cylindrical box, 6, anda plate, It, having a non-circular socket, I), in its lower face, rests on and is rotated by the shaft.

On the upper face of the plate R is a suitably-secured grinding-ring, It', and on its lower face are a series of sweeps, Q, adapted to carry meal to a discharge-opening, 7, in the bottom of the box 6, whence it is carried by a spout, F, downward to the meal-box. Vertical adjustment of the plate R is secured by means The arms I I I al-4 ready referred to, rest-on and are securely p of a preferably round-headed screw, S, in the i Above the box 6 is a cylindrical cover, M, connected with the box at one point by ahinge, HZ, consisting of suitable ears, H and Z, joined byahorizontal pivot,which may be formed with one of the ears or separate from both. At a point diametrically opposite from the hinge IOC the cover M is provided with a lug, rn, formed with a preferably radial vertical slot, and a rod, o, is hinged at r to the arm l, and swings into or out of the slot in the lug. The upper end ofthcrod o is scrcwthreaded and provided with a hand-wheel, J, .by means of which the lug may be pressed downward. A spring, p, resting on the arm l', resists the downward pressure of the hand-wheel and holds the lug constantly against the lower face of the wheel.

rlhc cover M consists ofa cylindrical rim (on which the ear ll and lug 11 are formed) and a top plate, 71., provided with a series of openings, for the admission of grain to the box 6. A suitable hopper, N, is attached to the rim, and a feed-plate, w, rests on the top plate, l1, and is formed with a series of openings cor responding in number, size, and arrangement with those in the top plate. A radial rod, a, fastened to the feed-platc, as shown in Figs. l and (5, projects through a horizontal slot,O, Fig. 3, in the rim of the cover M, and serves asa means of adjusting the feed-plate. rlhe length and position of theslot O are such that when the rod a is at one end of the slot the openings in the fccdplatc w exactly coincide with those in the top plate, h, and when the rod is at the opposite end ofthe slot the openings in the top plate are fully closed by the solid parts of the feed-plate. The available size of the openings in the plate h may thus be regulated by means of the rod a when the mill is in operation and the hopper is full of grain.

Below the top plate, h, isa grinding-ring, l, the upper surface of whose marginal portion rests against lugs S, formed on the inner surface of the rim of the cover', M. The lower surface of the margin of the ring is beveled upward at three points, and two of said points rest upon and are supported by lugs il on the rim of the cover M, while the third point is supported by a set-screw, i', passing through the rim. rlhc grinding-ring is thus held rigidly between the lugs 8, which are above it, and the lugs u and set-screw t, which are bclow it. The ring k has an annular margin, c, Figs. 2, 4, S, extending slightly below thc lowest points of its grindingridges, and the ring 7n' is formed with a similar annular` margin extending slightly above its grinding-surface. lhe margin of the ring k is cut away at suitable intervals to allow the escape of meal, but the two annular margins rest one on the other when thc rings are brought together, and effectually prevent the striking or wearing of the grinding-faces. (See Fig. 4, bottom plan of cover M and ring is.)

On the center of the upper face of thc plate ,t is formed a cone, 9, which extends upward through the top plate, h., and feed-platc w, and terminates in a short cylindrical part, g, on which is rigidly fastened an agitator, f. XVhen the feed-plate wis in such a position as to expose the openings in the top plate, 71, either wholly or partially, any grain in the hopper N tends to pass through said openings and onto the cone 9. The distance between the plate 7L and the surface of the cone is so slight that so long as the cone is stationary the eolumns of grain passing through the several openings in the plate h remain distinct, each column being, however, larger at its base than the opening through which it falls. So soon as the plate R and cone 9 begin to rotate, the grain passing through the openings in the plate h is carried away, its motion being partly circular in the direction of rotation of the cone and partly from the center outward toward the grinding-rings k k', the eentrifugal motion being assisted by the shape of the cone t). lt is evident that any increase of speed of rotation of the cone 9 will increase the rotaryand centrifugal motions of the grain on the conc, and in fact l have found that in any given position of the feed-plate w, the amount of grain passing through the openings in the top plate,71,is substantially proportional to the speed of rotation of the cone S) and the grindingring k, which is attached thereto. Each rotation of the master-wheel therefore grinds thc same amount of grain, no matter what may be its time of rotation, and it is unnecessary to vary the position of the feedplate w except to compensate for changes in the power applied to the mill or in the natu rc ofthe material to be ground.

rlhc operation of the mechanism shown and above described, while evident from the foregoing explanation ofthe parts,may be briefly stated as follows: The rotation of the sweeps B and master-wheel C rotates the pinions G G' G, and the larger pinions, l) D 1), formed therewith, and the rotation ofthe last-named set of pinions rotates the gear-wheel U and with it the shaft 'll and beveled gear V. The turning of the shaft T drives the plate lt, grinding-ring k', grain-sweeps Q, cone f), and agitatorf, and the rotation of the beveled gear V imparts motion to the gear V and shaft T. The position ofthe feed-plate w regulates the speed at which grain is delivered through the top plate, h,to the grinding-rings,and the space between said rings is regulated either by means of the hand-wheel .l on the rod o or by removing the plate lt and the parts attached to it, and raising or lowering the screw S. The adjustment by means ot' the hand-wheel is sufticient for all ordinary purposes, the screw S being made use of only when it is necessary to compensate for wear of the parts. The raising and lowering of the hand-wheel J, together with the upward pressure of the spring p and thc consequent swinging of the cover M abouta fixed horizontal hingejoint throws the cover slightly out of a horizontal plane, but the rounded head of the screw S gives the plate R sufficient rocking adjustment to keep IKO IXO

4m joint, and at an opposite point byau adj usta-' lower face of the ring, and l are openings in the plate to receive said lugs and insure the rotation of the ring with the plate.

I am aware that it is not broadly new to combine with a grinding mechanism and suitably perforated feed -plates a distributing-plate placed beneath the feed-plates and adapted by its rotation to expedite and equalize the flow of grain to the grinding-surfaces. So far as I know, however, the plates so employed have heretofore been flat horizontal disks, and while a fiat plate, by its centrifugal action on the grain, is a usefulelementin such a combination, a conical distributer such as I have shown and described is much more effective and satisfactory. Y

Having now described and explained my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

l. The combination, with the shaft T and means for rotating` the same, of the screw S, set in the top of the shaft, a plate, R, resting on the head of the screw and adapted to be raised and lowered by means thereof, agrinding-ring on the upper surface 'of the plate, and a second grinding-ring above and coacting with the first, said plate being connected with the shaft by means insuring their simultaneous rotation, substantially as shown and described, and for the purpose set forth.

2. The combination, with the shaft T and means for rotating the same, and a screw, S, set in the top of the shaft, of a suitably-supported box or case, 6, inclosing the upper end of the shaft, aplate, R, within said box and resting on the head of the screw, whereby it may be raised and lowered, a grinding-ring rotating with said plate, acover connected with said box or case at one point by a hingeble fastening, substantially as shown and described, and a second grinding-ring fastened to said cover, and co-operating with the ring fastened to said plate, the plate R being connected with the shaft T by means insuring their simultaneous rotation, and the grindingrings having independent means for vertical adjustment, substantially as Vshown and described, and for the purpose set forth.

3. The combination, with the shaft T, and means for rotating the sa1ne,of a suitabl y-su p ported box, 6, ascrew, S, set in the top of the shaft, a plate, It, resting on and adjustable by means of said screw and rotating with the shaft, a grinding-ring, 7c', resting on the plate and connected therewith by means of lugs k, on the ring entering openingsl in the plate, the cover M, connected with the box by the hingejoint H Z, and having the slotted lug a, the Swinging-rod o, and the hand-wheel J, and the grinding-ring k, fastened to the cover M, and coacting with the ringlc,substantially as shown and described, and for the purpose set forth.

4. The combination, with the cover M,hav ing the two sets of lugs 8 u, and the grinding-ring k, resting against the lower faces of lthe lugs 8, and havinga series of upwardlybeveled spaces on its margin, of a set-screw, t, passing through the rim of the cover in the plane of the lugs a, two of thebevelcd spaces on the grinding-ring being supported by the lugs u, and a third by the set-screw t, and the ring being rigidly held between the lugs 8, and the lugs u, and screw t, substantially as shown and described, and for the purpose set forth.

5. The combination, with the box 6, shaft T, plate R, supported by and rotating with the shaft, grinding ring lc', fastened to the plate, cover M, resting on the box and having perforated top plate, 7L, feed-plate w, resting on the top plate, and grinding-ring 7a, fast- -encd to the cover, and co-operating with the ring k', of the cone 9, formed on the upper surface of the plate R, and adapted to distribute the grain passing downward through the openings in the top plate, h, and feed-plate w, substantially'as shown and described, and for the purpose set forth.

6. The combination, with the shaft T, box 6, cover M, having perforated top plate, 71, grinding-ring k, fastened to the cover, and feed-plate w, resting on the top plat-e, of the plate R, resting on and rotated by the shaft T, and having the distributing-cone 9 on its upper face, the grinding-ring k', fastened to the upper face of the plate R, and the grain-sweeps Q, fastened to the lower face of said plate, and adapted to clear the bottom of the box 6, substantially as shown and described, and for the purpose set forth.

7. The combination, with the grinding-rings k k', each having aplane marginal ring, e, projecting beyond its grindilig-face, and the margin of one of said rings being notched at intervals to permit the escape of meal, of means for supporting said rings, and means, substantially Vas shown and described, for rotating one of th'em.

In testimony whereof Ihave signed this specifi'cation in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

DANIEL G. STOVER.

I'Vitnesses:

CHAs. GILBERT, J. A. GRAIN.

IOO 

